Spray unit installation



March 14, 1961 J. F. NORLING 2,974,878

SPRAY UNIT INSTALLATION Filed Dec. 7, 1959 INVENTOR. 2| 34 2| JAMES F. NORL/NG ATTORNEY United States Patent SPRAY UNIT INSTALLATION James F. Norliug, Denver, (1010., assignor to Red Comet, Inc., Littleton, Colo., a corporation of Colorado Filed Dec. 7, 1959, Ser. No. 857,619

5 Claims. (Cl. 239-282) This invention relates to novel and improved means for mounting a fire control unit in a ceiling and the like, and more particularly relates to an installation adapted for connection of a spray unit, commonly employed for fire protection purposes, in the ceiling of a. building or room.

It is customary to employ fire control units, for example in a home or business oflice, and it is of course highly desirable in the installation of same to enable mounting of these units as easily as possible in a manner such that the units will be inconspicuous and will not in any Way obstruct or deter from the attractiveness of the room. Generally, such systems are most desirably mounted in the ceiling of the room and incorporate some type of nozzle or spray head which are thermostatically controlled to emit a fluid or liquid downwardly into the room.

The present invention is directed to a greatly simplified and reliable means for installing such units and has as its principal object the installation of such units in a wall or ceiling portion from one side only so that it is not necessary to in any way remove the supporting wall or ceiling portion or to gain access to both sides of the wall or ceiling such as by going into attic spaces in order to securely mount the unit in place.

It is another object of the present invention to proyide for an installation for a fire control system and the like which is economical to manufacture and install, eliminates a number of parts and special securing elements, and moreover, provides for a way of easily and rapidly mounting a fire control system from one side of the supporting wall only in flush relation to the wall.

It is a further object to provide in an installation for a fire control system and the like a mounting bracket which may be securely positioned in a wall or ceiling portion from one side only for interconnection of the fire control system such as a spray unit to the wall or ceiling.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of installation illustrating in non-assembled relation the order of installation beginning with the top element to a ceiling portion; and.

Figure 2 is a section view of a preferred form of installation as shown in Figure 1 in assembled relation to a ceiling portion.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown by way of illustrative example in Figure 1 an installationfor a typical spray unit wherein the installation is broadly comprised of a mounting bracket or sleeve 12 together with a face plate 14. In the drawing, the installation of a fire control system such as the spray unit 10 will be described with reference to mounting in the ceiling portion, such as the ceilinglS illustrated in Figure 2, although it is to be understood that the installation is also adapted for use in a wall or in general any suitable type of supporting structure.

The mounting bracket 12 constitutes the primary feature of this invention and the bracket is essentially in the form of a sleeve including a main supporting member 16 having an outwardly extending flange 18 provided with a series of openings 19, and prongs or fingers 20 carried in spaced relation on the central supporting member 16. It will be seen that three prongs 20 extend through a corresponding number of spaced slotted portions 21 for projection in both directions beyond opposed sides of the central supporting member 16 to form the main supporting elements for the entire installation.

The supporting member 16 is of a configuration corresponding to the cross section of the spray unit 10 and in the preferred form, since the spray unit is given a circular cross section, the central support 16 is similarly in the form of a ring or circular band as at 22 with the flange portion 18 extending outwardly essentially at right angles to the band 22. In turn, the prongs are most desirably disposed in relation to the central support, for a' purpose to be described, so as to extend along the exterior surface of the band through the slotted portions 21 to define relatively long rearward portions 20d and relatively short forwardly extending portions 20b. Means such as rivets 24 may be employed to connect the prongs rigidly to the band 22.

The spray unit 10 may be of any standard type and for the purposes of illustration may be made up of a cylindrical container portion 30 adapted to support a grenade or similar receptacle 31 at its upper end which spaced below the nozzles merely to hide the nozzles from I view. It is to be further noted that the cylindrical container is provided with an outwardly and downwardly extending skirt 34, and the ring 22 of the mounting bracket 12 is dimensioned to slide or fit in outer concern" tric relation over the cylindrical container 30 so that the skirt 34 will move into abutting relation wardly extending flange 18.

The installation for the spray unit may also include the face plate 14 which is of a generally annular configuration to cover the lower end of the spray unit, and includes a central opening 35 along with a series of openings 36 which correspond with the size and spacing of similar openings 19 in the flange. The openings 19 and 36 when aligned are adapted to receive screws 38 and the like for interconnection of the face plate to the mounting bracket. In mounted relation, the central opening 35 will permit a downward extension of the plate 33 together with the nozzle 32 therethrough while covering the remainder of the installation and thereby forming an attractive installation positioned in flush-fitting relation to the ceiling portion.

Prior to installation of the unit, it is of course necessary and prior to positioning of the spray .unit 10 Within the mounting bracket it is to be noted that the rearwardly Patented Mar. 14, 1961 with the out- 3 extending portions 20a are of a length to extend inwardly substantially beyond the thickness of the wall portion 14 and, being composed of some pliable material, may be easily ,bent outwardly to extend. into tight fitting engagement with the opposite side 42 of the wall portion so asto hold the entire bracket securely inv place.

The spray unit is then'etxended through the opening formed by the mounting bracket so that the flange will move into abutting relation with the flange 18 of the bracket, as shown in detail in Figure 2. It will be evident in this relation that the forwardly extending portions 26b of the prongs will extend downwardly beyond the flange 34 and simply by bending the prongs inwardly over the flange will then complete the connection of the spray unit 10 to the ceiling portion 15. Thereafter, to complete the entire installation, the face plate may be, positioned over the bottom of the spray unit and. flange with the openings 36 aligned with the openings 19 for interconnection by means of the screws 38..

It will be noted from the above described mstallation procedure that the bracket. when formed essentially in accordance with the present invention permits assembly of the entire installation from the interior of the room without necessity of working from both sides of the wall or ceiling portion and this is primarily accomplished by use of the pliable fingers or prongs 20 by which expedient the rearwardly extending portions 26:: may be manipulated to bend outwardly into tight fitting engagement with the ceiling, and portions 20b may be bent inwardly to secure the spray unit to the mounting bracket and in turn to the ceiling portion itself. Of course, once the face plate is positioned in place, the interconnecting parts between the spray unit and mounting bracket are cornpletely hidden and the only exposed part of the unit itself is the plate 33 extending through the central opening 35 of the face plate.

It will become further apparent from the above that the mounting bracket may adopt any desired configuration in accordance with that of the spray unit itself. Also, the prongs 20 may be of any desired construction with the limitation that they are insertable through the opening for engagement with the wall or ceiling on one side and with the mounting bracket on the opposed side of the wall or ceiling, respectively. In this connection, the preferred embodiment of the present invention is especially suited for installation in a ceiling although it has ready application to other supporting or enclosing.

wall portions and for this reason the term wall as employed in the claims is intended to include either an upright wall, or a ceiling, or similar portion.

It is to be further understood that various other changes and modifications may be adopted in the construction, materials and relative arrangement of the parts in accordance with the desired application, without departing from the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A mounting bracket for installation of a spray unit and the like in a wall wherein an opening is provided in the wall for extension of the spray unit, said bracket being sized for extension into the opening and the spray unit being sized for extension through the opening for connection in inner concentric relation to the bracket, said bracket including a support having a flange extending outwardly therefrom to seat against one side of the wall portion surrounding the opening, and a series of fingers on said support each finger including a portion extending rearwardly through the opening for engagement with the side of the wall opposite said flange to hold said bracket in the wall portion. 1

V 2. A mounting bracket for installation of a spray unit and the like in a wall wherein an opening is provided in the Wall for extension of the spray unit, said bracket being sized for extension throughthe opening and the spray unit being sized. for extension through the opening in inner concentric relation to said bracket, said bracket including a support having a flange extending outwardly therefrom to seat against one side of the 'wall portion surrounding the opening, and pliable fingers carried by said support each finger including a portion extending rearwardly through the opening for bending into engagement with the side'of the wall opposite said flange to hold said bracket in place and each finger further including a portion adapted for inward bending into engagement with the spray unitto hold the spray unit in place with said bracket.

3. A mounting bracket for connection of a generally cylindrical spray unit and the like in a ceiling wherein an opening is provided in the wall for extension of the spray unit, said bracket being sized for extension through the opening and the spray unit being sized for extension through the opening in inner concentric relation to said bracket, said bracket including a ring portion having a flange extending outwardly therefrom to seat against one side of the wall portion surrounding the opening, and a series of spaced pliable fingers carried by said ring, each finger including a portion extending rearwardly through the opening for outward bending against the side of the wall opposite said flange to hold said bracket in place and each finger further including a forwardly extending portion for inward bending to hold the spray unit in place against said bracket.

4. A spray unit installation for connection of a spray unit and the like in a ceiling wherein an opening is provided in the wall for extension of the spray unit, said installation comprising a bracket in the general form of a sleeve sized for extension through the opening and the spray unit being sized for extension through the opening in inner concentric relation to said sleeve, said sleeve including a ring having a flange extending outwardly therefrom to seat against one side of the wall portion surrounding the opening, and a series of spaced pliable prongs carried by said ring, each prong including a pen tion extending. rearwardly through the opening for outward bending against the side of the wall opposite said flange to hold said sleeve in place and each prong further including a portion extending forwardly for inward bending into engagement With the spray unit to hold the spray unit in flush relation to said sleeve, and a face plate connected to said flange so as to serve as a cover for said installation.

5. A spray unit installation for connection of a generally cylindrical spray unit and the like in a wall wherein an opening is provided in the wall for extension of the spray unit and the spray unit includes a centrally disposed nozzle portion, said installation including a bracket sized for extension through the opening with the spray unit being sized for extension through the opening in inner concentric relation to the bracket, said bracket including a ring having a flange extending outwardly therefrom to seat against one side of the ceiling portion surrounding the opening, and a series of spaced pliable prongs carried by said ring, each prong including a portion extending rearwardly through the opening for outward bending against the side of the ceiling opposite said flange to hold said bracket in place and each prong further including a portion extending forwardly for inward bending to hold the spray unit in place against the bracket, and an annular face plate adapted for connection to said flange and providing a central opening to expose the nozzle portion on the spray unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,633,383 Marmor Mar. 31, 1953 2,753,141 Weber July 3, 1956 2,771,501 Despard Nov. 20, 1956 2,807,479. Hixon. ..7 Sept. 24, .1957. 

